November: Must See Movies and Movies to Skip

November starts with a chill at the movie theatre.  I am glad I live in the northeast and the weather has been bad because I have no desire to head to the movies this weekend.  The rest of the month looks incredible, and there are a lot of great films that are will be coming out.November 4th: Stealing with Ben Stiller or Christmas in November with an unnecessary third film in a series?  I pick catch up on small indie films.Tower Heist has an interesting cast with Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Matthew Broderick, and Gabby Sidibe, but the fact that this has Ben Stiller counts me out right away.  A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas is just a pointless installment in this series.  The first film was not that great, but it has a fun feel that did not make much money, nor...

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What's Your Favorite Scary Movie?....Happy Halloween!

The lines uttered by the ghostface killer in the Scream series (1996-2011) have now become infamous.    In an ominous voice the killer asking their future victim "What's your favorite scary movie?"  Halloween is a time for everyone to an enjoy a good scare.  I know not everyone likes scary movies, they are not my favorite genre, but you can always beat the genre by watching my other favorite type of film within this genre, the horror spoof (done well).  Here is my advice on what to watch, well, basically my favorite scary movies or thrillers.Rear Window (1954)  This Hitchcock film is the best  in my book when it comes to keeping me on the edge of my seat.  I know many people/critics respect Psycho...

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The Master of the Thriller: Alfred Hitchcock

On Friday I went to see the film Martha Marcy May Marlene.  While sitting in the theatre my stomach started feeling as though it were in knots from tension.  I was scared.  The movie does a great job creating a suspenseful build up.  I love suspense, there is nothing like a film thats uses and underlying amount of tension to make the audience squirm.With Halloween tomorrow being tomorrow and seeing everyone out in costumes last night, I started to think about what scares me.  The first thing on my list would be clowns, they are frightening.  Stephen King's It which aired on ABC IN 1990 has alway been one of the scariest things I have ever seen, mainly because of clowns.After thinking about It, or well...

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Martha Marcy May Marlene is a Thrilling Name that will be Hard to Forget

Martha Marcy May Marlene (4 out of 5 stars)Directed and Written by: Sean DurkinStarring: Elizabeth Olsen, Hugh Dancy, Sarah Paulsen, and John HawkesThis haunting tale starts with Martha with a group of people at a farm in upstate New York.  During the morning Martha (Elizabeth Olsen) runs away to town and ends up calling her sister to come pick her up from, well she does not know where.  Martha has disappeared for two years ends up living with a cult.  Martha's sister (Sarah Paulsen) comes to get her and bring her to her quiet home away from New York City in Connecticut.  As Martha attempts to get past her experiences with the cult the film flashes back between her time in the cult and her attempt to rehab at her sister's.First...

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I'm Coming Out to say that Movies about Coming Out as LGBT just don't make the Grade, while TV gets a solid B+

Happy Coming Out Month!  I realized the other day while I was in Salem that I had not honored this month yet. This month is a great time, many colleges, and now high schools are starting to celebrate this month in order to help students feel supported in their environment. As the Trevor Project works towards ending bullying, more people need in educational establishments need to celebrate this month.  There is no no slowing down the amount LGBT suicides due to bullying, and more and more people need to realize that we need to allies to younger LGBT populations as they start their process of coming out. With more people coming out at younger ages, people need to reach out to people who work with younger people on a daily basis.  I...

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Weekend Provides an Intimate look that makes the Viewer feel like a an Intruder into their Lives.....in a Good Way!

Weekend (4 out 5 stars)Directed and Written by: Andrew HaighStarring: Tom Cullen and Chris NewRussell (Tom Cullen) goes to his friends dinner party one night and after is asked to do something with his friends, but he declines claiming he has to get to work early in the morning.  Russell goes to a gay bar instead of going home in part because he does not feel comfortable letting his straight friends into this part of his world.  While at the bar Russell eyes Glen (Chris New) from across the bar follows him into the bathroom looks down at him as he pees, but while at the bar is rebuffed by him.  Soon we see Russell being kissed by this other guy.  Soon after its morning and Russell is making coffee, and as he opens the door...

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Travels with Kevin Part 2: A Trip to Salem with some Hocus Pocus

Last night was a relaxing night filled with laundry and watching TV.  I needed a night in doing nothing after an incredibly stressful week.  I was glad that my friend Patrick suggested a trip to Salem today.  I needed a day away from Boston and a day away from the chaos of the city.  Salem, Massachusetts is known to many people as home of the famous witch trials during the 1600s.  During the month of October Salem is a huge tourist destination because of the connection with the witch trials, and there being a lot of spooky themed events within the city.  I knew the Salem would be busy, so there was no escaping the chaos, but I did get to have a nice adventure into the suburbs.While in Salem the lines to do...

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The Worst TV Seasons! (Comedy Edition)

I have been re-watching my favorite one of my favorite television shows of all time, Gilmore Girls, for the seventh time (or more).  I am an avid TV watcher and I have a lot of TV seasons on DVD.  When I go to watch certain shows there are always seasons I dread getting through.    With my favorite shows I can easily pick out the worst seasons.  I can pick out the worst with other shows I watch too, but I think being a popular culture fanatic its better when you can recognize the worst in your favorite.I am in the middle of my least favorite season of the Gilmore Girls, the sixth season.  At the beginning of the sixth season the famed mother daughter team Lorelai and Rory have stopped speaking.  Rory...

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Stressed Out! Movies About Stress at Work

I am having one of the most stressful weeks at work, between meetings, tasks, room inspections etc. I have had little time to do breath or catch up on other work I need to get done.  Tonight I left work at 6 pm, and have rarely had the opportunity to just breath, until now.  Time to vent and let out my emotions through the power of film.  Jobs can be stressful, there are stressful times, and when a lot of things pile up they become emotionally and physically draining.  After a long day of work yesterday and a staff meeting at 8 pm I came into my apartment put on my TV and passed out at 9:30.  I think the last time I went to bed that early was when I was 10.  I am prepping for the end of the week to have the same...

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Gory Matters Here: The Walking Dead Returns

Last Fall a phenomenon hit the small screen and AMC brought to life a graphic about zombies, called The Walking Dead.  The Walking Dead followed a group of people who were attempting to escape zombie attacks and find sanctuary near and in Atlanta.  The genius behind the scenes was creator and executive producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile). Tonight the show kicked off the first part of second season with a 90 minute episode entitled "What Lies Ahead."The first season of the show (only 6 episodes) ended with an explosion and the main cast on a caravan to find sanctuary.  The second season starts with our group on their drive, and they are stopped by a road block of cars.  While they get trapped...

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Revenge Never Tasted So Sweet!

While on call last night at my job I was up until 2 am (busy night) so I was able to catch up on some television I have missed.  My boss Ann and a few other people have been telling me I have needed to watch the show Revenge on ABC. When I looked at what shows I was interested for the fall this show was not on my list.  I remember going to the movies and seeing previews for this show and laughing and thinking this is going to be a terrible show.  As I saw more previews the show looked more appealing (as a guilty pleasure), but I refused to give in.  Finally a couple of weeks ago I decided I had to make the time to see what people were talking about.  Last night I watched the first three episodes of this show back...

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Adele 21 album cover

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The Ides of March is a Smart Adeptly Made Political Thriller

The Ides of March (4 out of 5 stars)Directed by: George Clooney (Good Night and Good Luck)Written by: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau WillimonStarring: Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, and George ClooneyIn the fast paced world of politics the idealistic media consultant Steven Myers has thee candidate he believes should be the President competing in the Democratic Primary, Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney). The film centers around Myers idealism and belief in the political system.  At the beginning of the film Myer's character helps craft a a response for his candidate which is aimed to state that the candidate has no religious connections, but Governor Morris believes in...

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Characters Welcome...No, Characters Matter!

USA network uses the tagline "characters welcome."  This tagline adheres to the quality of the show and the unique characters they have in their television programs.  I like this tagline.  When viewers watch television shows they get used characters in "their program."  I would add another part or revise this phrase and say that characters matter.Netflix has added a lot of episodes from the fall 2010-spring 2011 television season.  While on call at my job I have been watching a lot of movies, and catching up on television shows that I missed, namely the last season of Law & Order: Special Victim's Unit.  As I started watching this season I realized this was the last 24 episode I would watch with detective...

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Dawn of the Dead: Zombies on the Rise!

My friend Kevin texted me tonight with the plan to make cupcakes.  With his love of Whole Foods (sarcasm) he was not able to get the supplies for the cupcakes.  I have to ask what store does not have funfetti cupcake mix.  In the end the two of us ended eating store bought cupcakes, taking a walk to Best Buy and cursing at them for lying about their store hours (Best Buy is a terrible store), and watching another thriller Dawn of the Dead (2004).Dawn of the Dead is of course a re-make of George A. Romero's 1978 film with the same title. Romero's vision of a world haunted by the living dead aka zombies started in 1968 with Night of the Living Dead.  Ten years later came one of the best cult classics of all time,...

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Rosemary's Baby starts the Thrilling Month of October

October is the month of pumpkin flavored food, apple picking with cider doughnuts, Sam Addam's Octoberfest, and of course the month that contains Halloween.  I loved Halloween for several reasons: getting dressed up in costumes has always been fun for me, as a kid who wouldn't love free candy, and getting Halloween is full of good scares!  I am not a big fan of scary movies, in fact I think they are my least favorite genre of film.  Scary movies are often silly, and poorly written.  When it comes to being scared I enjoy a good thriller above the typical type of slasher film or one of the gross torture scary films.Roman Polanski (Chinatown, The Pianist) wrote and directed Rosemary's Baby (1968)  a smart thriller that...

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